Israel said Tuesday it killed Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, in a strike as attacks hit Tehran, Beirut and Baghdad.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Larijani was “eliminated last night,” though Iran has not confirmed it. Earlier, Israel said Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force, was killed Monday in Tehran.
The strikes follow US-Israeli attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, less than three weeks ago. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, replaced him. US President Donald Trump said Monday, “we don’t know... if he’s dead or not.”
Hundreds have died and millions displaced, notably in Lebanon and Iran. Oil prices rose more than five percent Tuesday after Iran attacked vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel said it struck “Iranian terror regime infrastructure across Tehran” and in Lebanon. Lebanese media reported a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, was hit.
Trump demanded allies join quickly and with “great enthusiasm” in an armada to escort tankers, warning it would be “very bad for the future of the NATO military alliance” if they refused.
Trump admitted Monday he was “shocked” at Iran’s response. “They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them,” he said. “So, they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”
A drone and rocket attack targeted the US embassy in Baghdad, while a strike killed four people at a house reportedly hosting Iranian advisors.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told AFP that Europe should support “any effort to eradicate Hezbollah now.”